OFR – Chapter 198 The big drama of the year (Part 2)!

Nowadays, many online shops specializing in plants and animals on Taobao, including the well-known “Mei Wei Tian,” have been deliberately stirring up controversy against “Zhen Pin Tian,” gradually eroding its vast traffic and popularity.

One example is the annual promotional event of Mei Wei Tian, where they hyped up two extremely rare plants, indirectly highlighting that Zhen Pin Tian had never offered such high-end species—implying that Zhen Pin Tian was inferior.

Another tactic was to exploit the fact that Zhen Pin Tian had a limited supply of goods, maliciously accusing them of using “hunger marketing.”

“Hmm, they really know how to find flaws.”

Looking at the points raised by these competing shop owners, Mu Bai couldn’t help but nod in agreement.

Indeed, the accusations were all based on facts, making it easy for uninformed netizens to believe them.

But after acknowledging the validity of these points, Mu Bai began contemplating how to counter this challenge against his Zhen Pin Tian store.

Such cutthroat competition was rare on Taobao. At most, businesses would engage in price wars, but this kind of intentional smear campaign was unusual.

However, with Mei Wei Tian leading the charge and many gold-rated shops backing them up, the entire rare plants and animals industry was now on the verge of an all-out war.

For Mu Bai, Zhen Pin Tian’s online store was his largest sales channel, so there was no way he would allow Mei Wei Tian to tarnish its reputation unchallenged.

He furrowed his brows, deep in thought about his counterattack.

Mu Bai understood the real motive behind Mei Wei Tian’s smear campaign. Besides trying to dominate the high-end plant and animal market on Taobao, they were also eyeing the title of “Top Popular Shop” in the industry this year.

Winning this title not only boosted credibility but also granted exclusive promotional resources from Taobao and, most importantly, a spot on Taobao’s international platform.

This meant their products would be recognized as the best in China and sold worldwide—a prestigious honor that would significantly boost their store’s reputation.

While Zhen Pin Tian wasn’t desperate for international sales yet, expanding its reach for future growth was a logical step.

So, Mu Bai had no intention of backing down.

Since he refused to retreat, the only option left was to engage in this industry-wide war, with Mei Wei Tian as the main opponent.

“Heh.”

A cold smile formed on Mu Bai’s lips.

Since his competitors had forced him into this difficult position, there was no other choice but to fight back!

Mu Bai wasn’t someone who enjoyed stirring up trouble, but as a man of wealth and influence, he had never been one to back down.

His eyes turned icy.

Yes, it was time to get serious.

Meanwhile, in a high-end office building in Shanghai…

Inside Mei Wei Tian’s headquarters, many employees were sitting in front of their computers, watching the overwhelming support they were receiving from netizens and industry peers.

“Haha! I really want to see how Zhen Pin Tian will respond this time!”

“They probably won’t. We have two ultra-rare plants as our major attraction, along with various rare species purchased from Liang Trade Company. When it comes to inventory, we’ve already left them far behind!”

“What’s there to be proud of? If our Liang Trade-backed store can’t even crush a small shop like Zhen Pin Tian, then we might as well quit the industry!”

“Haha, the boss is right!”

Everyone laughed, full of arrogance and disdain toward Zhen Pin Tian.

But what they didn’t realize was that once their opponent got serious, they wouldn’t even have the chance to beg for mercy.

Meanwhile, industry experts on Taobao were closely watching…

It was undeniable that Zhen Pin Tian was the undisputed leader in the rare plants and animals sector on Taobao. Their popularity and engagement levels were among the highest across the entire platform.

Yet, despite this dominance, many industry veterans believed that if Zhen Pin Tian engaged in a direct battle against the rapidly rising Mei Wei Tian and its allies, they would suffer severe losses—or even fall from grace.

Currently, Mei Wei Tian’s inventory, both in terms of quantity and rarity, had caught up with Zhen Pin Tian.

This time, they had brought out two ultra-rare plants and five rare plants to compete for the industry’s “Most Popular Shop” title.

And what had Zhen Pin Tian done?

Nothing.

Five or six hours had passed, yet there was no response from them—only silence.

A heavy silence.

As people anxiously followed the unfolding drama, time quickly passed, and soon it was 1 PM.

Lunchtime had just ended.

And the battle escalated again!

Many turned their eyes to witness the next move.

Mei Wei Tian and its allies took it to the next level.

They boldly displayed massive banners on their Taobao storefronts, openly condemning a certain “Zhen Pin” shop, accusing them of hunger marketing and consumer deception.

The banners were glaringly obvious, and the target of their attacks was crystal clear.

With these united banners, Mei Wei Tian and its allies had officially ignited the fiercest industry showdown of the year.

The rare plant and animal e-commerce community—comprising millions of consumers—erupted in chaos!

At the same time, Zhen Pin Tian’s public forum was flooded with negative comments.

• Q: “Trash store Zhen Pin Tian! Always using hunger marketing! Who else here couldn’t buy their products? Thumbs up if you agree!”
  • A: “Agreed! Thumbs up!”
  • A: “Never managed to buy anything!”
  • A: “Trash store!”
• Q: “Mei Wei Tian sold an ultra-rare plant last time, and now they’re selling two more. What does Zhen Pin Tian have? Anything high-end at all?”
  • A: “Haha, nope! Trash!”
  • A: “Total garbage!”
  • A: “They fake their sales numbers!”

The entire forum was overwhelmed with criticism.

In a small jade shop in Nanjing…

Sitting in front of her computer, Mi Xuan watched the chaos unfold, doing her best to reassure loyal Zhen Pin Tian customers.

She had been with Zhen Pin Tian since its early days when it had only a few thousand followers.

She genuinely liked their customers and didn’t want them to leave in disappointment.

But despite her efforts, her explanations were drowned in the flood of negative comments.

Even worse, the store’s follower count was plummeting at an alarming rate—dropping from nearly 2 million to just over 1.6 million.

A loss of 300,000 followers!

That was an astronomical number, one that even well-established stores would struggle to achieve, let alone lose.

Meanwhile, Mei Wei Tian was experiencing the exact opposite.

Having started with virtually no industry attention, they had grown to 700,000 followers before today.

Now, they had skyrocketed past 1.1 million!

It was absolute madness!

A crushing contrast!

Mi Xuan sat in front of her screen, at a loss for words.

But she refused to give up.

She continued fighting to retain every customer she could.

She knew Mu Hao had promised to handle everything.

He had never let anyone down before.

Many industry observers assumed Zhen Pin Tian’s owner was too afraid to fight back.

But Mi Xuan believed differently.

Mu Hao would show up.

And when he did, he would dominate.

And then, at that moment…

Zhen Pin Tian’s homepage updated.

In the midst of the chaos, amidst the wave of negativity—

The store’s banner announcement changed.

Mi Xuan’s heart pounded as she looked up.

And the moment she saw it, an indescribable feeling surged through her.

All her efforts had not been in vain.

He had arrived!

Mu Hao was here!

The entire industry, from casual spectators to die-hard Zhen Pin Tian fans, erupted in excitement!

The comment section exploded with messages:

“Boss is here! Absolute dominance!”

And just like that, every negative comment was drowned out.